I. Field
The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to providing secure tracking and reporting of resource utilization at a user terminal.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as, e.g., voice content, data content, and so on. Typical wireless communication systems can be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems can include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and the like.
Generally, wireless multiple-access communication systems can concurrently support communication for multiple user terminals. Mobile devices respectively can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to a communication link from base stations to user terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to a communication link from user terminals to base stations. Further, communications between user terminals and base stations can be established via single-input single-output (SISO) systems, multiple-input single-output (MISO) systems, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, and so forth.
In addition to the foregoing, ad-hoc wireless communication networks enable communication devices to transmit, or receive information while on the move and without the need for traditional base stations. These communication networks can be communicatively coupled to other public or private networks, for example via wired or wireless access points, in order to facilitate transfer of information to and from user terminals. Such ad-hoc communication networks typically include a plurality of access terminals (e.g., mobile communication devices, mobile phones, wireless user terminals), communicating in a peer-to-peer fashion. The communication networks may also include beacon points that emit strong signals to facilitate peer-to-peer communication amongst access terminals; for example, emitted beacons can contain timing information to aid in timing synchronization of such terminals. These beacon points are positioned to provide wide area coverage as respective access terminals travel within and across different coverage areas.
Wireless communication employing the licensed spectrum, whether facilitated directly by a base station, or utilizing ad-hoc communication between user terminals, involves electronic resources provided by owners/licensees/providers of the spectrum. Typically, costs for utilizing those spectra are shared among consumers utilizing the bandwidth, sometimes employing flat rate or per-usage billing platforms, or employing other billing models. Billing helps offset initial investment in the spectra as well as investment in access point network infrastructure (e.g., base stations, base station controllers, beacon points, subscriber management servers, application servers, and so on), and interfaces with circuit-switched and packet-switched core networks for communication services. Accordingly, billing is an important aspect of a service provider's business model.